Groups that help crime victims will soon receive more than $45 million. The S.C. Public Safety Coordinating Council formally approved the federal and state grants last month. The projects will begin October 1. The grants are distributed by the South Carolina Crime Victim Services Division in the Attorney General’s Office. The grants are going to private non-profit groups, sheriff’s offices, police departments, solicitor’s offices and state agencies. Lexington County offices will receive $2,625,234. It will go to:

• Lexington County Sheriff’s Department

• Sistercare, Inc.

• Dickerson Children’s Advocacy Center

• 11th Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office The division was added to the Attorney General’s Office by state law in July 2017. It had been combined from offices in the S.C. Department of Public Safety and the S.C. Department of Administration. Receiving the grants are Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and State Victim Assistance Program (SVAP).